When Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was announced in August of 2012, rumors swirled about the show’s definite connection to the Marvel cinematic universe, along with concerns about the risks of bringing a large-scale movie franchise to television.

Revolving around the fictional law-enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) which handles strange occurrences across the globe, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”delves into the people behind the big superheroes, the secret agents and the bureaucrats.

The announcement that the show was going to be developed by veteran television writer Joss Whedon, creator of cult series such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”and “Firefly” as well as director and writer of “The Avengers” spurred excitement and ensured the TV series would maintain the same feel as “The Avengers.”

The pilot episode of the series does an excellent job of introducing the characters and establishing the necessary secret agent/sci-fi vibe. Although some of the dialogue is a little cheesy, the action sequence and the technology are impressive. The foundation is already being laid for possible season-long plot arcs, and mysteries are being introduced that will hopefully be solved later on in the series.

The show also has the advantage of having decades of source material to draw from–S.H.I.E.L.D. has a sizeable presence in Marvel Comics, only a minute amount of which has been seen in recent Marvel films. However, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”does frequently reference movies like “Thor”and “Captain America,”which can make the show seem a little too derivative of the movies.

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” also allows for the existence of cameos from some of the better-known Marvel heroes, which makes sense with “Thor: the Dark World”coming out this year, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” coming out next year and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” reaching theaters in 2015.